Obama Family Chili Recipe
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says he’s been making this chili since college. From an appearance on “Good Morning America.”
Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
Several cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey or beef
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground basil
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Several tomatoes, depending on size, chopped
1 can red kidney beans
Garnish: grated cheddar cheese, chopped onions, sour cream
Directions
Sauté onions, green pepper and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add ground meat and brown.
Combine spices together into a mixture, then add to ground meat. Add red wine vinegar. Add tomatoes and let simmer, until tomatoes cook down. Add kidney beans and cook for a few more minutes.
Serve over white or brown rice. Garnish with grated cheddar cheese, onions and sour cream.
John McCain’s Ribs
The Republican presidential candidate prepared this recipe for the press corps during his campaign.
Ingredients
Equal parts garlic powder, salt and black pepper
3 lemons
Baby back ribs
Directions
Preheat grill to low.
Mix garlic powder, salt and pepper. Rub into both sides of ribs.
Grill ribs, bone side down, for about an hour to an hour and a half, squeezing lemon frequently over meat.
Mamie’s Million-dollar Fudge
This recipe originated with former first lady Mamie Eisenhower. Makes 5 pounds.
Ingredients
4-1/2 cups sugar
Pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 can (1-1/3 cups) evaporated milk
12 ounces semisweet chocolate bits
12 ounces sweet chocolate, broken into pieces (originally called for Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate, but you can use any sweet, mild chocolate, around 48 percent cacao)
1 pint marshmallow cream
2 cups nut meats
Directions
Mix sugar, salt, butter and evaporated milk in large, heavy pan.
Bring to boil. Boil 8 minutes (adjusted for Denver’s altitude), stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Place chocolate bits, sweet chocolate and marshmallow cream in large bowl. Pour boiling syrup over ingredients. Beat with wooden spoon until chocolate melts. Add nuts. Pour into buttered 9-by-13-inch pan. Let stand several hours before cutting.
Apple Wild Cherry Compote
This was served with lemon pudding at George W. Bush’s inaugural lunch in 2005. From The Washington Post, makes 8-10 servings.
Ingredients
3 cups water
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 whole clove
4 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 10 wedges
12 ounces sour cherries (may use frozen, defrosted or canned, drained cherries)
1 pint (2 cups) blackberries (may use frozen, defrosted berries)
Directions
In a large pan over medium-high heat, bring the water, sugar, cinnamon and clove to a boil. Add apples, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer just until softened, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples to a bowl; set aside. Add the cherries and blackberries to the pan and simmer for 2 minutes. Return the apples to the syrup, remove from the heat and serve warm over ice cream or pudding.
Senate Bean Soup
Bean soup is on the menu in the Senate’s restaurant every day. There are several stories about the origin of that mandate, but none has been corroborated. According to one, the Senate’s bean soup tradition began early in the 20th-century at the request Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, who expressed his fondness for the soup in 1903. This recipe, served in the Senate today, serves 8.
Ingredients
2 pounds dried navy beans
4 quarts hot water
1-1/2 pounds smoked ham hocks
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Wash the navy beans and run hot water through them until they are slightly whitened. Place beans into pot with hot water. Add ham hocks and simmer approximately three hours in a covered pot, stirring occasionally. Remove ham hocks and set aside to cool. Dice meat and return to soup. Lightly brown the onion in butter. Add to soup. Before serving, bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper.
Bill Clinton’s Favorite Chicken Enchiladas
Longtime Arkansas Governor’s Mansion Liza Ashley told the Nashville Tennessean that this was Clinton’s favorite dish. Serves 6-8.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 4.5-ounce cans choppped green chiles
1 garlic clove, minced
1 28-ounce can can tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon oregano
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups sour cream
2 cups grated cheddar cheddar cheese
2 cups chopped onion
1/3 cup cooking oil
15 corn tortillas
Directions
Preheat oil in skillet. Sauté chiles and garlic in oil.
Drain tomatoes and reserve 1/2 cup liquid. Add tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, oregano and reserved tomato liquid to skillet. Simmer uncovered until thick, about 30 minutes. Remove sauce from skillet and set aside.
In a bowl, combine chicken with sour cream, cheese and remaining salt. Heat 1/3 cup oil in a shallow pan over medium heat. Dip tortillas in oil until they soften. Drain well on paper towels.
Fill tortillas with chicken mixture. Roll up. Arrange side by side, seam side down, in 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking dish. Pour chile-tomato sauce over enchiladas.
Bake at 300 degrees until heated through, about 30 minutes.
Harry Truman’s Favorite Buttermilk Pie
Chief steward Harry Hightower made this pie for President Harry Truman when they sailed on the battleship Missouri in 1947. When the president requested the recipe, the chief steward refused, citing faily secrecy. When he retired from the Navy, Hightower allowed the Navy Times to publish the recipe. From “Politics and Pot Roast” by Sarah Hood Salomon, makes 1 9-inch pie.
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust with edges of crust crimped high
1/2 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer, beating until mixture is well blended. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine flour and salt. Gradually beat dry ingredients into butter mixture. Beat in buttermilk until mixture is well blended. (Batter should look like a cake batter that needs more flour.)
Pour buttermilk filling into pie crust. Sprinkle toasted pecans over top of filling. Bake pie at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 15 to 20 minutes or until the buttermilk filling is set. Cool. Store the pie in the refrigerator.
Note: To toast pecans, spread evenly in a shallow baking pan. Bake pecans at 350 degrees about 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring once or twice during baking. They will toast further in the pie.
Drink recipes
Cocktail guru Jonathan Pogash created these cocktails for the Distilled Spirits Council, which hosted a big party at Beta Nightclub near Coors Field during the Democratic National Convention.
The Maverick
1 oz. Bourbon
3/4 oz. Simple Syrup
3 Lemon Wedges
1/2 of a Ripe Peach
1 oz. Champagne
Directions: Muddle the peach and lemon in the simple syrup. Then add the Rye and ice and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass. Top off with champagne and garnish with a peach slice.
Cocktail for a Change
1 oz. Gin
1/4 oz. Biscotti Liqueur
1/4 oz. Dry Vermouth
2 dashes Orange Bitters
Directions: Stir ingredients in a mixing glass with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an orange peel.
Red State Round-Up
1 oz. Tequila
1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
3/4 oz. Homemade Grenadine**
1/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Egg White
Club Soda
Directions: First, shake the egg white to emulsify. Then add remaining ingredients to cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with sparkling water and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg and lemon wheel.
**To make home-made grenadine, simply take 1 cup of store-bought pomegranate juice, and 1 cup of superfine sugar, and shake until all the sugar is dissolved.
Blue State Build-Up
1 oz. Light Rum
1 tsp. Blue Curacao
1/2 oz. Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 dash Aromatic Bitters
Directions: Stir ingredients in a mixing glass with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with 3 floating blueberries.
